Ghost in the Machine (1994)

December 30, 1993

Review/Film;
Rampaging Appliances In 'Ghost in the Machine'

By CARYN JAMES

Published: December 30, 1993

"Ghost in the Machine" is the kind of movie in which a curling iron, a garbage disposal and a dishwasher become potential murder weapons. The explanation will thrill technophobes: a serial killer dies during a lightning storm and his soul seeps from the hospital's X-ray scanner into a mainframe computer. From there he roams through Ohio's electrical system, ejecting videos from VCR's at will and terrorizing Terry Munroe (Karen Allen) and her 13-year-old son, Josh (Wil Horneff).

Considering that premise, the film should have been a lot wackier. Although "Ghost in the Machine" opened yesterday without advance screenings (the surest sign of trouble), the movie is not a disaster. It is a competent, occasionally witty genre piece that never tries to be anything more.

It's no mistake that the story begins with a house that looks suspiciously as if it belongs on Elm Street, and ominous music that suggests Freddy Krueger has come to town. The director is Rachel Talalay, who produced two of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies and directed the last one, "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare."

"Ghost in the Machine" echoes Freddy's weird ability to creep into supposedly safe places. Here it's the telephone instead of your dreams, but the premise is the same. So is the film's rhythm. Viewers know the computer killer will stike and sometimes even who is up for grabs. (When a sexy teen-age baby sitter appears in "Ghost in the Machine," she's obviously a goner.) The question is when and how, and the best moments in "Ghost in the Machine" have fun playing with that question. Choosing his victims from Terry's address book, the killer first attacks her boss with a lethal microwave that invades the entire kitchen. First the popcorn on the counter pops; then a banana explodes; then the boss's face begins to pop, too.

The film isn't sharp enough to make its premise seem new, though. It has trouble juggling all the things it tries to be: a special-effects movie filled with computer graphics; a high-tech slasher film; a joke. But its real shortcoming is that it doesn't have the haunting resonance of the "Elm Street" series. A killer who enters dreams is one thing; a killer who plays with the electric swimming-pool cover doesn't have quite the same claim on the unconscious.

"Ghost in the Machine" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes violence, some of it not computer generated.
Ghost in the Machine